The 30th of Saun 718
Debt, huh? Oberan mused.
To be honest he’d never imagined he’d ever be manipulated by someone claiming he owed the a large sum of money. Yet here he was, doing their bidding because he didn’t have that amount of coin.
In front of him loomed a rather impressive mansion, a huge building with elaborate decorations and carvings on the walls, and gargoyles sitting on the corners of ledges, on the lookout for intruders. There were large windows leading to romantic balconies overlooking the lush garden, each with their own little roof held up by columns, so the view could be appreciated no matter the weather. The roof was slanted, lined with black tiles, and displayed many differences in elevation. It seemed the residence wasn’t built to be symmetrical or to have the same amount of floors in each wing. Multiple chimneys interrupted the black roof tiles, one for each part of the building. There were jetties and dormer windows with gables, each sporting ornamental structures to match the rest of the mansion.
The lower half of the manor was still a mystery, as Oberan couldn’t see it from his position. A protective wall encircled the whole plot of land the owner possessed, the entrance guarded by a wrought iron gate and a couple of hired guards. Not that the Mortalborn was planning to saunter in through there, though he supposed making such an attempt would be entertaining in its own right. As well as challenging… but that would have to wait for another time. Right now he just wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have gone along with this. Maybe he should have refused and left the city instead. Then again, he was a Mortalborn. He wasn’t going to leave Etzos because of one measly human. Also, the man’s thugs were becoming a pest, and what once had been relatively fun had gotten real old, real quick. If he was being honest, he’d been curious about the jobs the man had for him too.
So he’d given in. Now he was here.
His task shouldn’t be that difficult. Solomon’s mercs had taken note of Oberan’s agility, and the merchant himself had immediately seen the use in it. A true opportunist. ‘Go place some false evidence in my competitor’s private study,’ he’d said, ‘that’ll teach him to steal away my customers.’ The merchant’s hired hands weren’t suited for such a task, and he apparently wasn’t willing to hire anyone from the Underground who could pull it off. Stingy. Though he couldn’t really get anyone better than the Mortalborn of Larceny, so…
Either way, the man owning this huge mansion had apparently pissed Solomon off to the point where he was planning to remove him from the scene once and for all. Or at least ruin his reputation beyond repair. A forged ledger detailing dealings with an organization connected to the Al’Angryl would do the trick. From what Oberan had gathered, Solomon would then send an anonymous tip to the Blackguard which would result in a search of the mansion, as well as the competitor’s arrest. Even if the man was found innocent, the rumors it would generate were going to utterly destroy his trustworthiness.
A simple plan, but effective. Probably.
He checked the inner pockets of his coat, to assure himself the book was still in there, then approached the wall, pretending to be on a nightly walk. Meanwhile he subtly scanned the area by only moving his eyes, ‘accidentally’ stumbled over one of the cobblestones to give himself an excuse to look behind him, and quickly leap upwards when he didn’t spot anyone. His hands found purchase on the top of the wall, and with a little help from his feet, he swiftly managed to haul himself up.
Beneath him lied the well-kept garden. The grass was manually trimmed every trial, each cut meticulously measure so it would all be the same length. A path meandered through the green. It was fashioned from tiles with organic shapes, as if a boulder had been cut into slices of the same width, each placed in such a way that they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The stone river led past flowerbeds, underneath arches cloaked in vines and ivy, around a pond with specially bred and colorful fish, through a set of bushes made to resemble forest animals like deer and rabbits and birds, to then loop back to the back door of the mansion. Well, back door was perhaps the wrong word for it. It was a grand set of double doors with its own tympanum and little colonnade.
Oberan resisted the urge to simply drop down the wall, checking what was underneath him first. It was a good thing he had; there was a low hedge along the base of the wall, only less than a foot separating stone and plant. Simply jumping down would see him probably crash in the hedge when trying to break his fall, which would have alarmed the guards patrolling the garden. Yet, climbing down would be a bit of a challenge with the ivy attached to this side of the wall. The long branches were easy to hold onto, yes, but Oberan wasn’t sure the plant was strong enough to support his bodyweight.
He tried it anyway, moving gingerly as he lowered himself down, not removing his hands from the top of the wall. As expected, his feet couldn’t get to the vertical surface of the wall because of the thick carpet of vines, but the plant itself provided him with footholds instead, it’s supple branches tangled into a rather strong knot in several places. That was all he needed. With a bending of his knees did Oberan push against the wall, effectively jumping backwards to get around the hedge. He barely made it, not having dared to use any more force out of fear the ivy might detach. Quickly the thief ran towards the nearest tree, bent in a crouch as to escape line of sight.
Continued
